The invention disclosed relates to an improved semi-automatic target pistol.
More exactly, the pistol in question is of the type utilized in "semi-automatic", "standard", and "large caliber" classes of competition, although the design can be extended to cover other types of long- and short-barrelled semi-automatic firearms.
The requirement in these classes of competition is for a pistol which can be loaded manually for the initial shot (hence the term "semi-automatic"), then fire off the remainder of shots singly and in rapid succession, in number according to the rules of the competition. Besides being capable of rapid fire, such pistols must incorporate systems whereby cartridges are extracted from the magazine and loaded into the bore without jamming, and without suffering distortion. Also, any vibration attributable to the shift of moving parts deriving from pressure on the trigger must be avoided as far as is feasible, the time lapse between squeezing the trigger and explosion of the cartridge must be kept to a minimum, and recoil transmitted to the marksman's hand must be attenuated as far as possible.
A conventional pistol of the type in question will generally be provided with a magazine in which the cartridges are stacked one on top of the other, and which is inserted into the pistol from the bottom, either into the grip or into the body of the firearm itself; thus, in passing from the magazine to the bore, the cartridge is taken through a somewhat tortuous path that can occasion its distortion, and in certain rare instances, cause the firearm to jam. Moreover, percussion in handguns of the general type referred to is produced by a hammer-and-striker assembly that constitutes a source of minor vibrations on the one hand, deriving from rotation of the hammer, and on the other, absorbs the recoil from the explosion only in part when the firearm is reloaded, instead of progressively and fully.
Despite such drawbacks, percussion systems of the hammer-and-striker type continue to be adopted, due to the fact that conventional hammerless systems are characterized by relatively long striker travel, a feature which renders them unsuitable for target pistols of the type in question.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to overcome the drawbacks described above by providing a pistol in which the path followed by a single cartridge during loading is rendered less tortuous, in which any vibration attributable to rotation of a hammer is avoided, and in which the recoil following explosion of the cartridge is absorbed gradually and to a much greater degree than in pistols of prior art design.
One advantage provided by a pistol according to the invention is that the travel of the firing pin can be kept particularly short, such that the time lapse which separates squeezing of the trigger from firing of the cartridge is markedly reduced.
A further advantage afforded by the pistol disclosed is that of a highly efficient system for the ejection of spent cartridge shells.